


for once

by thunderylee



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, Gen, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-15
Updated: 2010-07-15
Packaged: 2019-01-30 19:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12659598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Prompt: Once..





	for once

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck.

It’s completely different, but the feeling is the same. Bright lights, loud music, thousands of people calling his name with different accents no matter what side of the world he’s on.

It’s Jin, in the spotlight, singing and dancing his heart out night after night for those people. The ones who love him alone, the ones who love him in a group, the ones who love him in English or Japanese, slow or upbeat, pure or distorted, the ones who laugh or cry at his lyrics. Or all of the above.

For the fans who love him, regardless of the reason, he goes out there and does his best. Wherever, with whomever, doing whatever, that’s not the point. It’s them, it’s the way they react and the feeling they ignite inside him that keeps him going, takes him all over the world and forms the genuine smile on his face.

But at the same time, unlike so many others who grace the same stages, he doesn’t forget where he came from. The man who gave him a chance, the other boys-turned-men with whom he awkwardly grew into fame. Though he may be far away, they’re always in the back of his mind because he knows that without them, any of them, he wouldn’t be here now.

Wherever ‘here’ is. Right now it’s London, performing a sold-out show for a sea of screaming and jumping fans, faces of all colors and encouraging shouts in all languages. It still amazes him to hear Japanese at overseas shows, whether from authentic Japanese people who traveled to see him or foreign fans who have worked hard to learn it. He once had a staff member tell him – in broken but ambitious Japanese – that she originally studied the language in order to understand KAT-TUN songs. At one time she had an entire speech memorized should she ever have the opportunity to meet him, but of course she had forgotten it by that point.

With each city like this, with each group of people he meets and culture he experiences, he’s grateful. To Johnny, to Koichi, to the five imperative members of his past to whom he owes his individual success. Even if he doesn’t talk to them much anymore, even if they’ve grown completely apart by now, a part of him is still working hard to make them proud.

With each day that passes away from home, he hopes they haven’t forgotten about him. Because they will never cease from his mind, always hanging out in the back during every show, every lyric he writes and each decision he makes, something like a conscience that keeps him grounded despite the fame and fortune.

_You’re not taking this seriously,_ Koichi said in the beginning. _If you want to be more than just a pretty face, you need to earn it._

_You’ve graduated from us,_ Kame said in the end. _Now you have to ‘shine on the world’ by yourself._

Jin begs to disagree with the last one, naturally. The other members of KAT-TUN will always shine as brightly as him, even if it’s just in his own eyes.

Everything he does, it’s a little for them too.


End file.
